Origin

Like splash (early 17th century), crack (Old English), and bang (mid 16th century), pop imitates the sound it describes. It was first used to refer to a blow or knock, the ‘abrupt explosive noise’ meaning coming later. The phrase pop the question, meaning ‘to propose marriage’, is first recorded in the early 18th century. The fizzy pop that you drink gets its name from the sound made when the cork is pulled out. It was first mentioned at the beginning of the 19th century. To pop your clogs is to die. Pop here is used in the sense ‘to pawn’ (mid 18th century), the idea being that a person who has just died no longer has any need of their shoes or clogs and so they can be pawned. The phrase is recorded only from the 1970s, which is surprisingly recent—it may have been made up as an ‘imitation’ dialect expression, or be an example of a folk expression that existed for generations without being recorded in print. In reference to music, pop is short for popular ( see people). The first mention of this pop was in 1910—‘a pop vaudeville house’—and pop songs were mentioned in Variety magazine during 1921. An issue of Melody Maker from 7 April 1956, gives us the first recorded mention of Top of the Pops, the best-selling recorded song or piece of music at a given time, although the first British singles chart was published in the 14 November 1952 edition of the New Musical Express. The BBC pop music programme Top of the Pops ran for 42 years from 1964 to 2006.

have (or take) a pop at

Even more important, though, Wanadoo could get the chance to take a pop at all those critics who described the company as serial complainers and whingers.

They then moved from turning pop into art to having a pop at the art world.

The point about political correctness, of course, is that it's an invaluable Aunt Sally, a flimsy paper tiger for anyone to have a pop at when they can't be bothered to come up with a proper argument to back up their position.

Origin

Like splash (early 17th century), crack (Old English), and bang (mid 16th century), pop imitates the sound it describes. It was first used to refer to a blow or knock, the ‘abrupt explosive noise’ meaning coming later. The phrase pop the question, meaning ‘to propose marriage’, is first recorded in the early 18th century. The fizzy pop that you drink gets its name from the sound made when the cork is pulled out. It was first mentioned at the beginning of the 19th century. To pop your clogs is to die. Pop here is used in the sense ‘to pawn’ (mid 18th century), the idea being that a person who has just died no longer has any need of their shoes or clogs and so they can be pawned. The phrase is recorded only from the 1970s, which is surprisingly recent—it may have been made up as an ‘imitation’ dialect expression, or be an example of a folk expression that existed for generations without being recorded in print. In reference to music, pop is short for popular ( see people). The first mention of this pop was in 1910—‘a pop vaudeville house’—and pop songs were mentioned in Variety magazine during 1921. An issue of Melody Maker from 7 April 1956, gives us the first recorded mention of Top of the Pops, the best-selling recorded song or piece of music at a given time, although the first British singles chart was published in the 14 November 1952 edition of the New Musical Express. The BBC pop music programme Top of the Pops ran for 42 years from 1964 to 2006.

Origin

Like splash (early 17th century), crack (Old English), and bang (mid 16th century), pop imitates the sound it describes. It was first used to refer to a blow or knock, the ‘abrupt explosive noise’ meaning coming later. The phrase pop the question, meaning ‘to propose marriage’, is first recorded in the early 18th century. The fizzy pop that you drink gets its name from the sound made when the cork is pulled out. It was first mentioned at the beginning of the 19th century. To pop your clogs is to die. Pop here is used in the sense ‘to pawn’ (mid 18th century), the idea being that a person who has just died no longer has any need of their shoes or clogs and so they can be pawned. The phrase is recorded only from the 1970s, which is surprisingly recent—it may have been made up as an ‘imitation’ dialect expression, or be an example of a folk expression that existed for generations without being recorded in print. In reference to music, pop is short for popular ( see people). The first mention of this pop was in 1910—‘a pop vaudeville house’—and pop songs were mentioned in Variety magazine during 1921. An issue of Melody Maker from 7 April 1956, gives us the first recorded mention of Top of the Pops, the best-selling recorded song or piece of music at a given time, although the first British singles chart was published in the 14 November 1952 edition of the New Musical Express. The BBC pop music programme Top of the Pops ran for 42 years from 1964 to 2006.